I'm currently GM the very beginning of The Wormwood Mutiny, and I have a particular player who is insisting on trying to mutiny, to sway the crew through overt threats, to assault Scourge.... and Harrigan literally just finished his welcome speech.
Right before his last outburst, he was directly threatened with having his ears chopped off for not listening. I know this isn't a standard punishment in S&S, but the threat of whipping hadn't done much to dissuade him. I don't feel like keelhauling him this early in the game, so I plan to follow through with the threat of ear evisceration.
My question to you, forums, is as follows:
(1) What penalties should be applied to someone who has had their ears cut off? I'd go with full deafness (-4 init, can't do perception involving sound, -4 on opposed perception and 20% spell failure on verbal), but I'm not sure if that would be the effects of having your ears removed.
(2) What would be the heal requirements on that? I'm assuming cure light wounds wouldn't be quite enough to regrow ears? He's a level 1 cleric though, so I'm sure he'll try.
(1) I'd say that seems approximately right.
(2) Cure only restores hitpoints. I suppose it could regrow an ear, but it doesn't seem like it would have the precision to recreate a functioning ear.
(1) Ok, I'm happy to go with that.
(2) Well, what would be the appropriate way for his character to regain hearing?
I'm not familiar with the AP, but I believe they're slaves? Otherwise, I'd say threaten his LEUTZzzz.
But yes, maybe start with minor digits, fingers and the like. Each could impose a penalty to somatic spells, and with enough lost skill checks, and attack rolls. 5% per finger? Not enough to mess him up forever, but I know that If I had even a 5%, I'd get pissed at rolling a chance to screw up everytime. Hell; he might miss a Stabilize right when the dying party member needs him, and then the guilt will be heavier then any slave chains.
I don't think there is anything that can, but I'm no expert on the system as far as this kind of stuff goes.
I, personally, would allow Restore (but not lesser Restore) to fix this, but it doesn't mention deafness as one of the conditions it fixes.
But yes, maybe start with minor digits, fingers and the like.
The conversation went something, roughly, like this:
Evil Master-At-Arms: Ok, you're on the deck of the ship, now listen to your captain.
Enslaved PC: I'm going to walk away and try and have a sneaky conversation WHILST the captain is talking DIRECTLY to me.
Evil Master-At-Arms: Hey! *gets a lacky to hit him for 2non-lethal damage to get his attention back on track* Now pay attention or I'll cut your ears off.
Enslaved PC: Cast doom to try and intimidate just the lackey who hit me, in front of a whole pirate crew, none-of-whom like me, right after being told I'll have my ears cut off.
I think ear removal is warranted.
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I would go with 1/4th deafness penalty or 1/2 for both ears. The ear aids in hearing, the actual components of the inner ear are what complete the function. The outer ear just channels sound. Eventually, his other senses will adapt and compensate for his lack of hearing... he'd probably get +2 to Perception when read lips, but any time someone isn't speaking loudly and clearly (especially when important information is involved) he's got to make a perception check to hear correctly, in addition to 1/4 or 1/2 deafness.
Just my two cents.
-Areks
If you have ultimate combat you can look at the called shot rules for some penalty ideas
Remove blindness/deafenss will restore hearing, but that's a second-level spell.
3rd level I believe.... so he'll be stuck for a minute but not permanently.
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Restore hearing ... maybe, but not the lost tissue. He'll need to be either reincarnated or receive a regenerate to get the ears back.
But yes, maybe start with minor digits, fingers and the like.The conversation went something, roughly, like this:
I think ear removal is warranted.
Evil Master-At-Arms: Ok, you're on the deck of the ship, now listen to your captain.
Enslaved PC: I'm going to walk away and try and have a sneaky conversation WHILST the captain is talking DIRECTLY to me.
Evil Master-At-Arms: Hey! *gets a lacky to hit him for 2non-lethal damage to get his attention back on track* Now pay attention or I'll cut your ears off.
Enslaved PC: Cast doom to try and intimidate just the lackey who hit me, in front of a whole pirate crew, none-of-whom like me, right after being told I'll have my ears cut off.
I think before you mutilate the pc ( even tho he sounds like he deserves it ) maybe stop the game for a second, and explain to him the surroundings.. like he is on deck in full view of everyone, he's a slave, and he's being aggresive after being threatened. If he continues his actions.. ya, go nuts on him.
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He actually already GOT his warning in character. If the player is too dense, too bad, so sad.
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Keelhaul him. It was a traditional punishment for the time. Have it do 6d6 damage and have him roll a DC 18 Fortitude check to avoid infection.
Keelhaul him. It was a traditional punishment for the time. Have it do 6d6 damage and have him roll a DC 18 Fortitude check to avoid infection.
The AP actually provides rules for keelhauling. It involves simultaneously taking damage per round (for between 6 and 12 rounds) and taking a test against drowning. Scary stuff for a lvl one character.
On a sidenote, one of the other PCs rolled a phenomenal bluff check and saved the character from losing the ear. He just got lashed into near fatal unconsciousness instead. Thanks for the help everyone, and I'll keep it in mind for future punishments.
He was most fortunate - now let's see if the inattentive player caught the lesson. If not, cut off his ears and stuff his keister in the sweatbox until the good Captain decides he needs the swabbie to pump the bilges.
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Seriously, have a talk with the player before the next session. Explain to him that if he wants to play this adventure, he needs to play along with the plot a bit more. His character is surrounded by far too many foes, and if the character continues to act like an idiot, he's going to get killed.
Adventure paths require a group that is interested in pursuing the story they lay out. There are plenty of decisions the player can make on how to approach things, but they can't outright refuse the main storyline without making things really annoying for everyone else (GM and other players). Ask him if he's acting this way because he misunderstood and thought from the adventure name that he was supposed to be able to mutiny right away, or if he really thinks that the fun thing to do here is to be so obnoxious that he makes it impossible for everyone else to play the game?
Seriously, have a talk with the player before the next session. Explain to him that if he wants to play this adventure, he needs to play along with the plot a bit more. His character is surrounded by far too many foes, and if the character continues to act like an idiot, he's going to get killed.
Adventure paths require a group that is interested in pursuing the story they lay out. There are plenty of decisions the player can make on how to approach things, but they can't outright refuse the main storyline without making things really annoying for everyone else (GM and other players). Ask him if he's acting this way because he misunderstood and thought from the adventure name that he was supposed to be able to mutiny right away, or if he really thinks that the fun thing to do here is to be so obnoxious that he makes it impossible for everyone else to play the game?
That's the plan. I'm hoping he'll get the idea from this, but to make sure I'm going to have a chat with him.
He makes it impossible for only so long as the rest of the group puts up with the nonsense. Being nice about it only goes so far. If the player goes all passive-aggressive, it's going to be a PITA. Don't let that happen, just tell the bum to git until the rest of the group gets done with wrapping up the campaign.
Just have two rusty iron bolts (perhaps something with hooks) rammed into his ears. If he persists. That should keep "cure deafness" some way off.
if that does not work.....
Give him a short and easy demonstration of who is boss on the Wormwood :
harrigan : "step over here, loudmouth"...feint, vital strike, sneak attack damage ( all with a steel capped boot or weighted gauntlet). Followed by a finishing kick on the now probably very prone character spitting teeth. Harrigan also has the bleeding damage power, right ? Have Master Plugg, Scourge and others at your leisure give a cruel and satisfied laugh
if you wanna be cruel have Harrigan say "oh, meat is on the table again". If you are really cruel, have the group actually having to eat him.... (builds some peer pressure).
or make his cadavre shark bait... or have his rotting coprse chained to the foremast "pour-encourages-les autres"
then have the player pick one of the standard warrior crew at level one. If he gets the point, have him replace the char at Rickety's. if not, time to dump an obnoxious spoil-sport player
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Word-choice: I usually feel that maiming players for their characters’ actions is a bit excessive. You may want to keep it in-game. :)
As far as in-play ways to dissuade or punish characters goes, you may want to consider branding or forced tattoos (“Idiot” tattooed across their forehead may have a chilling effect on their effectiveness in convincing others to mutiny with them) on the character.
-TimD
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Make it very clear that the punishments are doled out during the Bloody Hour. And play it off as Harrigan being amused by the kid's audacity...after all, he was the same way when he was a first mate, and he's got other things on his mind with the Cheliax situation anyway. Therefore, the PC's punishment will take place on the following day.
The very first night, have Rosie or someone approach him and tell him he's being an idiot.
"Look, lots of people want off this boat, alright? But you won't last long by angerin' Harrigan - if you want to live, you've got to be smart, pick your battles, and bide yer bleedin' time."
Then have Scourge and Plugg humiliate/punish other NPCs during the day, have it roll around to the bloody hour, and have the PC brought forward. Basically a 'Well, jim lad, have ye come around t' the life of a pirate, and understandin' who be in charge here? Or will Ambrose be making elf-ear stew t'night?'
Then the punishment boils down to either just a bunch of lashes on the mast OR the loss of an ear, however the PC plays it.
Make it very clear that the punishments are doled out during the Bloody Hour. And play it off as Harrigan being amused by the kid's audacity...after all, he was the same way when he was a first mate, and he's got other things on his mind with the Cheliax situation anyway. Therefore, the PC's punishment will take place on the following day.
The very first night, have Rosie or someone approach him and tell him he's being an idiot.
"Look, lots of people want off this boat, alright? But you won't last long by angerin' Harrigan - if you want to live, you've got to be smart, pick your battles, and bide yer bleedin' time."Then have Scourge and Plugg humiliate/punish other NPCs during the day, have it roll around to the bloody hour, and have the PC brought forward. Basically a 'Well, jim lad, have ye come around t' the life of a pirate, and understandin' who be in charge here? Or will Ambrose be making elf-ear stew t'night?'
Then the punishment boils down to either just a bunch of lashes on the mast OR the loss of an ear, however the PC plays it.
This, once you've had your OOC "talk" with the player and explained things to him.
If he persists in being an "obnoxious spoil sport player" then give him both barrels of deathbydice's "who's the boss" demonstration. There is no way an evil and ruthless person like Harrigan would tolerate blatant disregard for his direct authority from a mere pressganged swab...
hey do the classic : nail his ears to the mast.and after some time, when the char ets tired.... they will rip off, leaving deep scars.
Over here in plain european Germany, that allegedly used to denote lying and deceptive scoundrels, liars and cheaters - and those who had broken trust. Amongst crimnals and common folks, this was a sign for the person to be shunned A mark of shame, and given medieval surgery impossible to heal
Nowadays ist just denotes someone who will "take you for a wild ride on the lying side"
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Once you cut off his ears (if you have honestly gone above and beyond to warn him about his PC's actions I'm good with this), the only thing (beyond a Wish or Miracle) that can regrow them is Regenerate.
The subject's severed body members (fingers, toes, hands, feet, arms, legs, tails, or even heads of multiheaded creatures), broken bones, and ruined organs grow back.
My players gumbled a little about an early mutiny on their first day aboard the Wormwood ... UNTIL we played through the keelhauling scene with Jakes Magpie. I let the most vocal/rebellious PC roll the damage dice the keelhauling did to old Jakes. Then I very methodically described what was left of Jakes after the keelhauling. The PCs quickly fell into line. ;-)
In a way it is not all that easy, to keep the PCs informed, especially in the beginning, how atypically tough the upper officer echelon are.
Started my players as shipwrecked pirates, drifting along, when getting picked up. They had heard - general terms - about Harrigan. Pirate lord, old salt. Had the bigges hat around....
Using the variant Harrigan with the Heartripper Blade, I had Magpie faced with the choice of "keelhaul or facing the blade".... with a pale, dribbling/pixxing Magpie picking the Keelhaul.
Drove the point home, but a tad early for that, or tad late given how unpoular the player has already made himself
After a few days (3-4) aboard I simply had them stage some /sparring tourney both for motivating the crew to keep in shape (the lower 20% would get only half treasure from the next prizes), with cloth wrapped pins. Winner got choice part of a turtle caught that day.
Then had the players make some BA+Int rolls to "guesstimate" the oppositions strength.... and, to the officers to see who would be better served on crossbow duty and who in actual boarding.
Our powerful (ahem) Dwarf barbarian challenged Harrigan for "a quick bout".
After that "quick bout" NOONE ever raised the question to mutiny while Harrigan was aboardˆˆ
[u]Medically (to address the initial question )[/u] : Regenerate will be needed to regrow new ears (which can be bought on scroll fo app 2300gp). from experience : I dated a GF for some time who had a ear that had grown badly and been sewn shut. She couldn't in fact hear anything on that side of her head, except for deep and loud noises. So feel free to penalize as harshly as you will for sound checks and directional sound awareness. No triangulation and very easy to sneak up onˆˆ
If Capt. Harrigan wanted him to LISTEN and PAY ATTENTION more, why would Capt. Harrigan make it more difficult for him to LISTEN and PAY ATTENTION? Sure, you could go with, "Well, since you aren't using your ears, you won't be needing them."
But wouldn't Harrigan want discipline and a crew member that could do his job and take orders during a bording? Harrigan would more likely use other pirate punishments I would think than mutilation. Some of which might end in death if it was left to the Lady of the Waves.
Harrigan's other punishments hardly leave a swabbie in all that great a shape either.
The point needs to be driven home, and Harrigan can spare a few bodies to inevitable stupidity...
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If Capt. Harrigan wanted him to LISTEN and PAY ATTENTION more, why would Capt. Harrigan make it more difficult for him to LISTEN and PAY ATTENTION? Sure, you could go with, "Well, since you aren't using your ears, you won't be needing them."
Capt. Harrigan is not a particularly skilled captain, and he delegates far too much to his first mate, without appropriate supervision. His first mate is a borderline psychopath without any regard for the long-term consequences of his treatment of the crew. As a simple example of that, the rum rations doled out on board will, RAW, kill every member of the crew within a month, barring magical healing.
To borrow Dave Barry's description: On a ship that is essentially one twisting, writhing mass of bad decisions, you have successfully spotted... a bad decision.
If the whipping didn't have the desired affect, I think I might start with a single ear and have it give a -2 to Perception checks. I had one of my players not want to shut up during his speech also, but the whip seemed to change her attitude.
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Cut off an ear, lock 'em in the sweatbox for a few hours, and give him six lashes during the bloody hour.
If that doesn't teach 'em.. that character won't live a week.